Barbeau testifies against friend in killing of great-grandmother

A Sheboygan County teen took to the witness stand Wednesday, testifying how his friend helped him kill his great-grandmother in a 2012 attack.

Antonio Barbeau, 14, took the stand against Nathan Paape, also 14. Both teens have been charged with killing 78-year-old Barbara Olson in her Sheboygan Falls home last September.

Barbeau pleaded no contest to charges last month. He was advised that he could possibly testify against his best friend.

Prior to his testimony Wednesday, the court made it clear that Barbeau's testimony was not a condition of his plea agreement.

"We were going to try to scare her to get money and use force if needed," Barbeau said of the robbery of his great-grandmother.

Barbeau said he and Paape began plotting the killing the day before. He testified that both teens, then 13, hid weapons in their pants as Paape's mother drove them near Olson's home.

He testified that the two entered Olson's home through an unlocked garage door.

"She knew I was on the run and she said she was going to call my mom," Barbeau testified. "We got in and I looked at Nate and nodded and shook my head as in 'Yes or no?' He nodded and I took the first swing."

When District Attorney Joe DeCecco asked whether he meant with an axe, Barbeau answered "Yes, sir."

The criminal complaint stated Olson was killed after being struck with an axe and a hammer. Barbeau testified that both he and Paape used the axe during the attack.

Barbeau said he struck Olson three to four times with the axe, and that Paape struck her with both the axe and a hammer.

He said the teens then placed Olson in a blanket and tried to put her in her car.

"We could only get about half way," he said. They then were going to take her to the basement, but "we couldn't get up the two steps to get into the house," he said.

Barbeau said they left Olson's body in the garage, took some of her jewelry and her car and left the house.

Grocery store surveillance video showed the teens purchasing gloves and wipes which Barbeau said were used "to wipe down the car. To wipe off our fingerprints and that sort of stuff."

Barbeau said he and Paape wiped down the car and then parked it, leaving the car open with keys in the seat.

"We just left it there," he said. "If somebody wanted it, they could have had it if they wanted. We wiped it down and we wanted nothing to do with it. We knew we'd be caught."

The defense then began calling out several lies Barbeau made to police.

"Did you lie during the first hour of the interview (with police)?" Paape's attorney asked Barbeau.

"Yes, I did," he said.

The defense also called attention to the fact that Barbeau changed the story he originally told investigators.

"He (the officer) told you he had a lot of evidence and knew you were lying and then you changed your story," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," Barbeau said.

The prosecution rested its case just before noon Wednesday, and the defense was expected to call its first witness Wednesday afternoon.

Barbeau pleaded no contest to a charge of first-degree intentional homicide.

Paape took the stand in his own defense Wednesday afternoon. He testified Barbeau started the attack and that at one point, he asked for help.

"We went into the living room. Antonio picked up the hatchet and struck her with the blade side of the hatchet. He called me over because it got stuck, and we both had to pull it out," said Paape.

Paape is charged with being party to the crime of first-degree intentional homicide. He faces life imprisonment if convicted, but because of his age, he cannot be sentenced without a parole date.

The trial is expected to last through Friday.

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